Individuality in 1984
"In the end the party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make the claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly defined by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable-what then?"Freedom is individuality, and individuality is freedom. The denial of the rights to think and act upon unique thoughts is the basis of the party's power to control the mindless masses of Oceania in George Orwell's hellish vision of 1984. In this passage, Orwell reveals his fear of the distinct possibility of the complete loss of individuality in modern society. Through the control of thought and stripping of human emotion, the party is able to
He loves Julia only because he is obsessed with a revolution he doesn't understand. How can they change a political system if it's the only one they know? Another frightening aspect to this is that the influence of a government such as this spreads so far. If a single body can create a society in which every one of its members believes something that is not true, they are capable of anything. Orwell's concerns, manifested in this passage and clearly found throughout the novel, illustrate the very real fear at the time of the books writing. If the government controls everything, and dams any small ripple of rebellious thought, who possibly has the power to confront that? The people of society aren't even taught to know what revolution is. What scared Orwell so much about this was the fact that this system is practically irreversible. Children are taught to spy on their parents, and spouses are encouraged only to be together for the reproduction of devout party members. Individual thought processes and beliefs, such as unique political and social preferences, are viewed as unnatural and dangerous to a society governed by uniform thought and opinion. The Oceanic people's grasp of emotion only stretches as far as love for Big Brother and hate for anything different. They follow the creed of the party, and look to big brother for all the values they need. Emotions are what make someone alive. To control thought like this and force a group of people all to believe the same thing is to rob everyone of human dignity. "And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. If facts are alterable in an instant, and lies can become truth, than opinions can be manipulated even easier. Individuality is built off of previous experiences, and if a government controls the past, what experiences could you possible have had to make you free if the government doesn't want you to be? After all, what is life if you cannot be free to decide your own thoughts, and consequently, your actions? When individuality is nonexistent, basic human emotions like love are stripped from humans.
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